- New rates for calls, SMS, internet bundles take effect January 2025
The Nigerian Communications Commission has approved the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement between MTN Nigeria Plc and Natcom Development and Investment Limited.
This agreement covers the lease of NTEL’s 5MHz frequency division duplex (FDD) in the 900MHz spectrum band and 10MHz FDD in the 1800MHz spectrum band, which spans 19 states.
Announcing the development through a notification on Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Tuesday, the telecommunication giant stated that the renewal is for another two-year period, effective 1 May 2025.
The statement added that the NCC also approved a one-year lease expansion of the spectrums, covering the remaining 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory, effective 1 January 2025.
Commenting on the transactions, MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola said, “We are pleased with the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement with NTEL, which now includes coverage for all states, including the FCT. The lease enables us to enhance our 3G and 4G user experience as we improve coverage and capacity by utilising the spectrums. This positions us to capitalise on the growing demand for data and improve the delivery of services to our customers.”
Meanwhile, a source at the NCC has confirmed the approval of the long-pending request for telecom tariff hikes, with new rates for calls, SMS, and internet bundles expected to take effect in January 2025.
THE POINT reliably gathered that details of the new tariff adjustment which are being worked out by the NCC in collaboration with operators would be shared in an official announcement soon.
“An official announcement regarding tariff hike would soon be made. But you can be rest assured that NCC will ensure that it will benefit the subscribers and operators as we have to take into account the realities of the time,” the source said.
The proposed tariff hike marks the end of over a decade of lobbying by telecom operators in the country including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, Glo, 9Mobile who have persistently called for price adjustment to reflect economic realities.
Despite soaring operational costs driven by hike in energy cost, continued rise in headline inflation and even borrowing cost, telecom operators have been unable to raise prices for 11 years.
According to existing proposals, telecom tariffs could rise by 40 percent.
If adopted, the cost of a phone call will increase from N11 to N15.40 per minute and SMS charges will rise from N4 to N5.60. for data plans, the price of a 1 gigabit (GB) bundle will increase from N1,000 to at least N1,400.
